This invention relates generally to the field of woodworking and more particularly to a machine which is constructed to perform all of the shaping operations that are necessary to form a raised panel door.
Raised panel doors have long been popular not only for the doors of cabinets, but also for full size doors of the type that open and close doorways. In order to construct a raised panel door, it is necessary to perform a variety of woodworking operations. In the case of a cabinet door having a single panel, the panel is first cut to size and the two rails and two stiles are cut to length. Panel raiser cuts are made in the four edges of the panel to bevel them and provide the desired appearance on the periphery of the panel. The inside edges of each stile and each rail must be grooved to receive the panel edges and to shape the visible parts of the stiles and rails as desired. Finally, the ends of the rails must be shaped complementally to the grooved edges of the rails in order to mate with them when the door is assembled.
In the case of a full sized door having multiple panels, the process is even more complicated because of the number of panels. In any case, all of the cutting and shaping operations must be carried out accurately in order to make certain that the parts fit together properly and are in the correct relative positions when the door is assembled.
The present invention provides a machine on which all of the shaping operations that are required for the construction of a raised panel door may be quickly and accurately carried out. More particularly, the machine of the present invention is arranged to make the bevel cuts required to bevel the edges of the door panel, to make the cuts that are required to groove and shape the edges of the rails and stiles, and to make the cuts that are required on the ends of the rails to enable them to mate with the grooved edges of the stiles. By providing a single machine which is able to carry out all of the required operations, raised panel doors can be constructed in virtually any number much more quickly than is otherwise possible. By way of example, it has been found that approximately two minutes are all that is required to form a typical raised panel door when the machine of the present invention is used.
It is an important object of the invention to provide a machine in which the cutters for all of the cutting operations are carried on a single arbor shaft. This avoids the cost, complexity and maintenance problems that are encountered in machines which require multiple shafts and multiple drive systems for the different cutters.
Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character described in which the cutters are individually adjustable on the shaft in a quick and easy manner.
A further object of the invention is to provide a machine which is constructed to receive interchangeable wooden strips that vary in thickness for the components of the raised panel door to slide along as they are being fed through the cutters. Because wooden strips that vary in thickness can be accommodated interchangeably, different sizes and stiles of cutters can be accommodated without creating inaccuracies.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character described which operates safely. The machine is characterized by retractable safety guards which protect the fingers of the operator, and by permanent covers on exposed parts of the shaft.
A still further object of the invention is to provide, in a machine of the character described, a carriage for feeding the rails such that their ends are accurately cut to mate with the grooved edges of the stiles. The carriage is guided smoothly along a guide fence on the table and is equipped with a quick release clamp which clamps the rails against work support surfaces on the carriage in order to maintain the rails vertical while their edges are being shaped by the cutter.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character described which may be set up quickly and easily to perform accurate shaping operations, which is equipped with guide fences that are adjustable in order to accommodate work pieces that differ in thickness, and which is constructed in a simple and economical manner.
Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following description.